The field of the invention is that of telecommunications networks, and more particularly but not exclusively, networks for home use.
More precisely, consideration is given to a user seeking to use a terminal to access a service platform available on the network.
The field of the invention is limited to applications in which the terminal is connected to the telecommunications network via a gateway.
In the meaning of this document, a gateway is a device suitable for interconnecting a local network and an operator network, e.g. of the Internet protocol (IP) type, via an access network operating on a wire or a wireless medium.
Such a gateway is suitable in particular for performing address translation between its own address and the addresses of the terminals of the local network in the data frames that are exchanged between the two networks.
This is also referred to as “address substitution”.
In numerous applications, it is advantageous to associate an identifier of the terminal with an account of the user on the service platform.
By way of example, such an association makes it possible to personalize the man/machine interface of the terminal as a function of choices made by the user.
Such an association also makes it possible to encourage e-commerce applications in which the terminal is used for selecting articles or for gaining access to services, with payment for said articles or services being billed to the user whose account is associated with the terminal.
In the present state of the art, when a user seeks to associate a terminal with that user's account on a service platform, the user must make a connection via a web interface with the service platform and manually input a unique identifier of the terminal, e.g. a serial number.
Such manipulation is complex and runs the risk of inputting mistakes.
Another solution used in the present state of the art for associating a terminal with a user account on a service platform consists in recording the identifier of the terminal and the identifier of the user account at the time the terminal is ordered or delivered. By way of example, such an operation can be performed by the telecommunications operator.
That solution is complex for the operator to manage and cannot be implemented when the terminal is sold by a third party, e.g. directly by its manufacturer.